Hello friends,

I have something very special to tell you about: my teacher is putting on a one week intensive taiji and qigong retreat in Costa Rica in the first full week of 2027.

This is a chance to step out of our daily routines for a week in a beautiful place, really concentrate on taiji and qigong practice in a way that’s normally very hard to make time for, and also take some side trips to enjoy Costa Rica’s natural environment. Most instruction will be by Sifu Viola, who is an international taiji gold medalist, a disciple of Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei, and an excellent teacher. I will be teaching one session a day, topic to be determined.

Students of all levels are welcome and catered for. In previous years the group has been a mix of Viola’s long-time students, inexperienced people, and people who practice other martial arts but are new to Chen taiji. There’s no obligation to take every class while there. If you do, you’ll pack a huge amount of practice in, and if you don’t then there are hammocks to lie in, birds to watch, massage & spa treatments available, and optional day trips.

The venue is an attraction in itself: a retreat centre in the hills overlooking San José, with lush grounds and delicious food. We’ve been a couple of times before—the 2020 camp was part of our last trip anywhere before COVID cancelled everything for a while—and always felt well taken care of. And Costa Rica is a beautiful country with incredible biodiversity.

Full details are on Viola’s website. There’s a small discount if you register by the end of July (though it’s not cheap and I have to remind you that all prices there are in US dollars). If you have any questions, either reply to this email or contact Viola directly: wiseorchidmartialarts@gmail.com

I’m so glad that we’re getting to do this again after some years of it not being possible, and I’ll be thrilled if any of you can join us there.